motorsportfandomcom-20200223-history
2015 FIA World Endurance Championship
The 2015 FIA World Endurance Championship, organised by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile in partnership with the Automobile Club de l'Ouest, was the fourth edition of the FIA World Endurance Championship. An eight round Championship would see the season start in Great Britain at the 6 Hours of Silverstone in mid-April, before coming to a close at the 6 Hours of Bahrain at the end on November. The WEC's signature race, the 24 Hours of Le Mans, was held on the 13th - 14th of June, and featured double points. The World Championship battle went down to the final race of the season in Bahrain, with the #17 Porsche 919 Hybrid outfit of Mark Webber, Brendon Hartley and Timo Bernhard needing to finish fourth or higher if the #7 Audi R18 e-tron Quattro, driven by former Champions , and , could win the race. A hybrid issue, carried by Webber for the final hour and a half of the race left the #17 down in fifth, but with the #7 unable to get by the sister Porsche 919 of Romain Dumas, Neel Jani and Marc Lieb, Porsche secured their first WEC double despite it only being their second season. They had already taken the Manufacturers' title with a round to spare at the 6 Hours of Shanghai three weeks earlier. It was a clean sweep for Porsche as well, as their #19 entry at the 24 Hours of Le Mans claimed victory in the signature race of the year, pushed to the line by , Earl Bamber and Nick Tandy. Regulations Calendar Entrants Season Report The WEC featured over 66 hours of racing during the season, visiting three continents and eight different circuits along the way. Round I: 6 Hours of Silverstone 2015 The first race of the WEC season was to be held at the legendary Silverstone circuit in the United Kingdom on the 12th of April. The race was also to be supported by the European Le Mans Series. Round II: WEC 6 Heures de Spa-Francorchamps 2015 Race two was to be held a month later at Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium, and effectively served as a test event prior to the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Round III: 24 Hours of Le Mans 2015 The legendary 24 Hours of Le Mans, hosted by the Circuit de la Sarthe and the ACO over the weekend of the 13th-14th of June, featured the full WEC grid, along with several entries from the ELMS, USCC and other major Le Mans based series. Round IV: 6 Hours of Nürburgring 2015 Another legendary circuit, the , played host the the fourth round of the season, with the majority of the cars rebuilt over the summer break. Round V: 6 Hours of Circuit of the Americas 2015 The season's only visit to the Americas saw the Circuit of the Americas in Texas, USA, play host to the Championship on the 19th of September. The race also saw the announcement of the 6 Hours of Mexico City, a new creation for the WEC at the rejuvinated Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez circuit in Mexico's capital. Round VI: 6 Hours of Fuji 2015 The Fuji Speedway, set in the shadow of Mount Fuji, Japan, would host round six of the season on the 11th of October. Round VII: 6 Hours of Shanghai 2015 Shanghai hosted it's annual contribution to the WEC on the 1st of November, which served as the penultimate race of the season. Round VIII: 6 Hours of Bahrain 2015 The finale of the 2015 WEC series came to a close in Bahrain on the 21st of November, with the circuit hosting the race at sunset. Standings References Videos and Images: * References: